A Single Sparrow
by A.A. Majors
Summary: So, all Slytherin's are bad? Nah! That can't be true. I promise you, this is not a cliche and my own character is not extremely powerful.


Author's Note: Go back and watch the HPCoS movie. In the scene with the "Chamber of Secrets has been opened...." message, watch the background for a girl with short, black hair, and a Slytherin badge. That's Cearo!  
  
"Professor Snape?" The infamous instructor looked up. It was a Slytherin girl, dark (but rather short) hair. Which one was this? Millicent? No..... "I sort of have a question...?" Ah, he thought. The soft spoken one, Cearo. An odd name for a girl with a face so dark but skin the colour of a peach. "Well, what is it?" Although she was a Slytherin, he wasn't particularly fond of her. She never sat with anyone and made sour faces when he corrected Longbottom. "Well," her face lit up," today, you did something I didn't think was right. That Gryffindor boy, you know the one who messes up a lot? Longbottom, that's it. You got onto him for adding wolfsbane before he added the boomslang skin. Do you remember? You raised your voice and-" "I'm aware of what I said. Continue." "Anyway, I sat right next to Vincent Crabbe, and he did the same thing. I just wanted to point this out to you. You know, he does it so often that little brown girl, Granger, should tutour him. Or he should stay in after class. I don't know if Draco could help, but...." she trailed off.  
  
Severus Snape saw this little girl twice a week in his third-year potions class. Half Gryffindor and half Slytherin, everyone knew who he favoured. But this naive Cearo didn't seem to believe it. She would never allow herself to, because everyone seemed to hate her, and here I must take you away from Severus's mind and tell you what had happened in Cearo's first year.  
  
On the train ride to Hogwarts, Cearo had come across several kind children. She met Neville and Hermione. She chatted up Parvati and Padma Patil, and she had a heated discussion with Percy Weasley about Hogwarts, A History. She got along with all these students, but something changed in the Great Hall. When Cearo put on the Sorting Hat, she thought about her heritage. A Gryffindor mother, and a Hufflepuff grandmother.....and next year her little sister would be a Gryffindor (though at the time she didn't know). Once that hat had announced Slytherin, everyone she'd met left her. At the table, she had a drawn out argument with several of her own kind on why it doesn't matter what your heritage is. When one boy mentioned how all muggles should suffer the Unforgiveable curses, the idea of telling them of her muggle father was right out. So, Cearo was very much alone her entire attendance at Hogwarts.  
  
"Very well. I shall look into it," was Professor Snape's short reply. He tried to remain nuetral as she was a Slytherin, though a liberal one at that. Cearo walked out, rather happy. She knew she shouldn't be, as she'd pointed the injustice of her house leader, but she was still self- satisfied. Just as she was exiting, she saw a black cloak turn the corner, a bright yellow book could be seen in a lower pocket. She didn't take much interest in it, but instead decided to take the long route to the library. It was lunch time, but she wasn't very hungry and anyway, she'd end up sitting alone at the end of the Slytherin table. Cearo passed a great number of things that brought back memories. She passed the wall where the heir of Slytherin had once written a very cryptic message. She remembered this well, because she heard Draco Malfoy cackle in the common room as he told some fourth years that the heir was a Weasley girl, Potter's girlfriend. Cearo wasn't sure whether or not to believe this, because she didn't think Potter even had a girlfriend, judging by the wistful way he looked at the Ravenclaw seeker.  
  
Cearo passed several suits of armour, and started running down the corridor as she remembered a time Peeves shot spitballs at her. Finally, she passed a rather lost-looking first year, who was reading a map that had several marks on it that moved around. Cearo remembered the hardest time she ever had at Hogwarts. In her own first year, she had to find her way around by herself, as anyone who might prove a decent friend was frightened of her.  
  
Cearo reached the entry to the library. She spent a lot of time in here, and recognized someone she saw nearly every time she came: fellow third- year, Hermione Granger. But this time, Granger was alone. She had no Potter and no Weasley as she usually did, and she looked very tired. Cearo sta down at a table in front of Granger, but not before she noticed a the bags under Granger's eyes. Cearo pulled a book out from her bag and began reading it. Just as she'd come across the twelve uses of dragon's blood, Granger sat down, a familiar-looking yellow book in her hands.  
  
"Thanks for pointing out Neville's injustice," spoke Hermione, and at that, one Slytherin girl was left not quite so alone. 


End file.
